Antipodes Owners - Systems - Whats Best at Your House

[KrellFan1]

All Antipodes Music Servers can have Multiple server apps enabled at the same time, with only one Player app.
There is a caveat to this, when using Roon server and Squeezelite player, do not have Squeeze server enabled at the same time, as you will have mucho problem getting Squeezelite to be found inside of Roon.
There are other great-sounding possibilities to try on the K22, such as MPD + MinimServer, using mConnect Player Lite on your iphone, which is FREE, with Tidal and Qobuz integration.

Cool. I know that when I installed Squeeze server on the Sonic Transporter the only way to bring the Roon Core back online was to delete/remove the Squeezebox server.

So if you had to quantify the sound quality improvement between Roon/Squeeze and Squeeze box server, how would you quantify the bump in SQ? 2%? 10%? I ask bc if it is nominal likely not worth the hassle for me at this stage of my life. In simpler speak, I suppose I’m at a point in my life where, unless there is a dramatic bump in the SQ, I tend to take the path of least resistance, and keep things as simple as possible. What about the iPeng app for Squeezebox? I AM interested in that because if it works seamlessly with my ST it wouldn’t be a big deal to change both player and server. Easy enough to get the Roon server back on my Sonic Transporter. It does require that I delete the Squeezebox server but of course can always reinstall it. I could see myself using Squeezebox server standalone provided the app works well. I could use it for a month at a time before I go back to Roon to discover new music. Thx!

 

[OLADRA]

Honestly, only you can say if it is worthwhile, the only way is to listen.
I forgot that you have the Sonic Transporter as a server, App swapping with an all-Antipodes setup only requires selecting the appropriate play-back method from the Solution Dashboard, more convoluted in your setup, and all the more reason to stick with what you know and love.
Or another reason to grab a K41

 

[KrellFan1]

Honestly, only you can say if it is worthwhile, the only way is to listen.
I forgot that you have the Sonic Transporter as a server, App swapping with an all-Antipodes setup only requires selecting the appropriate play-back method from the Solution Dashboard, more convoluted in your setup, and all the more reason to stick with what you know and love.
Or another reason to grab a K41

Trust me: it is definitely on my wish list. If only I had a wealthy benefactor! I’m on the lookout for one to show up at a price I cannot resist. Safe to say I’m more than pleased with what the K22 has delivered, so it’s inevitable that one day I’ll extend my relationship with Antipodes!

 

[kennyb123]

I am using Squeeze Player w/Roon and I understand that listening to Squeeze Auto sounds even better. Are you confirming this?

I confirm that this is my opinion. My system has been optimized around time domain performance and transparency. The other options on Antipodes have a lot to offer, but I find that they smear things relative to Squeeze auto. It's not a subtle difference in my room, but I can understand how others might not agree.

I had a one on one screen sharing with with Mark Cole (who ALSO prefers Squeeze) and he brought up the Squeezebox server on my Mac and the interface put me off. I think I would sacrifice some SQ in favor of the interface provided by Roon w/ Squeeze. HOWEVER....there is the Peng app on the Apple App Store for only $8.99 and from what I understand, this app would read the library on my Small Green Computer, OR on a K41 should I upgrade down the road.

Let me start by saying that Roon offers the best interface. It's especially awesome when one is seeking to discover new music. But when I know what I want to listen to and I want to hear it in the very best sound quality, the Squeeze browser interact that Antipodes offers, does the job exceptionally well. I consider it the best interface to use when it comes to simply wanting to play you know you want to play.

iPeng is simple to use but I don't think it comes close to matching the browser interface that Antipodes provides, in my humble opinion.

I have single mode SFP - this model: FTLF1318P3BTL.

This is an excellent choice. I had a pair of these at one time but I found the 1324 slightly more to my liking. The person I sold my 1318 to actually slightly preferred the 1318 to the 1324. I don't think you can go wrong with either.

A friend has pointed me to a specific Finisar kit from After Dark in Hong Kong who claims to have an audio grade level Finisar SFP but it's crazy expensive at close to $400 US for one transceiver and Corning fiber. Not ready to spend that much money at this time

You and me both. I had put a halt to optimizing my network after I landed on those Finisar SFPs and the Sonora opticalModule. When I compared the sound to what I heard when I unplugged my network, it seemed as the obvious harm my network was causing had been nearly eliminated. I subsequently added a reference clock for my DAC, but a side benefit was I could use it with the EtherRegen. This brought a further improvement - even to music played off the internal drives of my Antipodes server. It's crazy but I'm back to optimizing my network as I found that there is still much more to gain. But the opticalModule and EtherRegen won't be going anywhere (except I will upgrade to the EtherRegen Gen 2 when it comes out).

In fact, during my remote session with Mark Cole we did precisely this: we installed the Squeezebox Server and in order to get Roon online again we had to REMOVE the Squeezebox server. So...to me this seemed like a pain in the butt, so reconciled myself to going halfway there Squeezebox/ Roon auto. It may be a compromise I live with...unless a number of members like you insist the SQ is more than nominally better, as in SIGNIFICANTLY better with any interface with Roon.

Once you get the hang of it, it won't be much of a pain. The Antipodes Solution dashboard should stop Squeeze server when you switch to Roon (Squeeze) and then start it back up when you switch back to Squeeze (auto). Then as long as you have the following enabled in Roon it should work fine. [Edit: Ah I see now that you have an additional hassle because you have the Sonic Transporter. Yeah you need to buy a K41. Haha]

 

[kennyb123]

Honestly, only you can say if it is worthwhile, the only way is to listen.

Amen

Or another reason to grab a K41

Exactly!

 

[KrellFan1]

iPeng is simple to use but I don't think it comes close to matching the browser interface that Antipodes provides, in my humble opinion.

Thx Kenny; I’m not quite sure I understand how it is my K22 can provide a Squeezebox browser interface. Maybe I’ll need a remote session with Mark to sort it out. During my remote setup session I recall going directly to the Squeezebox server website and it seemed very generic looking and uninviting. Honestly would be content to use the app as I presume the SQ will be the same. I’m guessing once I switch to Squeezebox Auto their servers will find my library since it’s the K22 that’ll be driving , so to speak and will know where to look.

As regards the EtherREGEN, Alex says it’ll be March be fire we see it. I have two in my system. One for my server and one for my K22. Have a cheapie transceiver for my server but a Sonore Optical Module for my K22. Couldn’t be with kit them. An engineer I’m friendly with feels like the new ER is unlikely to boost SQ in a meaningful way as 100 Mbps plenty for streaming audio. Audio doesn’t require nearly the nandwith or speed thst video does of course so maybe a bit of overkill. Perhaps there will be some design changes I suppose that may matter.

 

[kennyb123]

Thx Kenny; I’m not quite sure I understand how it is my K22 can provide a Squeezebox browser interface.

This is how you would do when running both Squeeze player and Squeeze server on Antipodes. Not sure what is possible on a K22 alone.

 

[KrellFan1]

This is how you would do when running both Squeeze player and Squeeze server on Antipodes. Not sure what is possible on a K22 alone.

View attachment 119504

Thanks but as you can see, my interface looks very different than yours, lacking the “play feature.” Perhaps if my server were set to Squeezebox it may resemble your interface. I suppose I could always email the company and get some guidance. Thanks !

 

[kennyb123]

Thanks but as you can see, my interface looks very different than yours, lacking the “play feature.”

Please share a screenshot.

 

[KrellFan1]

Please share a screenshot.

Sorry as I had taken one and forgot to upload it! Here you go!

 

[kennyb123]

Sorry as I had taken one and forgot to upload it! Here you go!

What happens when you switch to Squeeze (Auto)?

 

[KrellFan1]

What happens when you switch to Squeeze (Auto)

During my remote session we switched to Squeezebox server in Antipodes and then used the app download feature on the Sonic Transporter. Without ever playing any music I was put off by the interface I saw on my Mac so decided against proceeding and elected to go back to Roon. We could not and the only way to restore function was to delete Squeezebox Server as an app. Again, I was so put off by the interface in my Mac it wasn’t (at the time) worth the trouble. Perhaps there exists another interface that is more inviting/palatable. Seemed to me like iPeng app might provide such an interface but presume I need to first create an account with Squeezebox server….

 

[kennyb123]

During my remote session we switched to Squeezebox server in Antipodes and then used the app download feature on the Sonic Transporter. Without ever playing any music I was put off by the interface I saw on my Mac so decided against proceeding and elected to go back to Roon. We could not and the only way to restore function was to delete Squeezebox Server as an app. Again, I was so put off by the interface in my Mac it wasn’t (at the time) worth the trouble. Perhaps there exists another interface that is more inviting/palatable. Seemed to me like iPeng app might provide such an interface but presume I need to first create an account with Squeezebox server….

If there is no Squeeze (auto) option on your K22, then what I have mentioned about Squeeze isn't available to you until you add a K41.

Even with Sonic Transporter, there is likely an option to change the skin or interface. I just don't know if the Material plug-in is available to install on that. If they are still using default skin, then I would agree it's pretty darn ugly.

 

[kennyb123]

Without ever playing any music I was put off by the interface I saw on my Mac so decided against proceeding and elected to go back to Roon.

Here are some screenshots of the default Material interface:

Screenshots

Material skin for LMS (Lyrion Music Server). Contribute to CDrummond/lms-material development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Antipodes has deployed something similar in AMS 4.x.

 

[KrellFan1]

Here are some screenshots of the default Material interface:

Screenshots

Material skin for LMS (Lyrion Music Server). Contribute to CDrummond/lms-material development by creating an account on GitHub.

github.com

Antipodes has deployed something similar in AMS 4.x.

Thanks; it is really quite "different" than Roon, that's for sure. Kind of like the difference between the old DOS and modern day MacOS. But apparently functional. I'm sure it can't be that difficult to sort out. I don't notice anywhere, though, that the sample rate is expressed or noted? Maybe I am missing something

 

[kennyb123]

Thanks; it is really quite "different" than Roon, that's for sure. Kind of like the difference between the old DOS and modern day MacOS. But apparently functional. I'm sure it can't be that difficult to sort out. I don't notice anywhere, though, that the sample rate is expressed or noted? Maybe I am missing something

I think it would be best that you hold off on reaching any conclusions until you are able to hear Squeeze (auto) for yourself. Trade-off decisions will have to be made because Squeeze is free software while Roon is paid software. There's no way Squeeze can come close to matching the feature-richness of Roon. That Squeeze is so lightweight is also why it sounds so much better than Roon.

I should mention that for most of my years as an audiophile, I only listened to vinyl. I put up with the hassle as it easily gave me the best sound quality. Thus, despite Roon offering such a better user experience, I am easily willing to trade some of that away just to not have my musical enjoyment lessened by the harm that Roon does to the music. Not everyone is willing to make that tradeoff, so it's up to the individual listener to decide. Not everyone is as sensitive to the harm that Roon and some of the other options can do so that may make it easier for them to choose Roon. I sometimes wish I wasn't so sensitive as I love using Roon.

To answer your question, Squeeze does show the sample rate for the currently playing track. If you are looking for the display of the rate to allow you identify which version of an album you want to play, you might have to click down a few levels to find it.

 

[KrellFan1]

I think it would be best that you hold off on reaching any conclusions until you are able to hear Squeeze (auto) for yourself. Trade-off decisions will have to be made because Squeeze is free software while Roon is paid software. There's no way Squeeze can come close to matching the feature-richness of Roon. That Squeeze is so lightweight is also why it sounds so much better than Roon.

I should mention that for most of my years as an audiophile, I only listened to vinyl. I put up with the hassle as it easily gave me the best sound quality. Thus, despite Roon offering such a better user experience, I am easily willing to trade some of that away just to not have my musical enjoyment lessened by the harm that Roon does to the music. Not everyone is willing to make that tradeoff, so it's up to the individual listener to decide. Not everyone is as sensitive to the harm that Roon and some of the other options can do so that may make it easier for them to choose Roon. I sometimes wish I wasn't so sensitive as I love using Roon.

To answer your question, Squeeze does show the sample rate for the currently playing track. If you are looking for the display of the rate to allow you identify which version of an album you want to play, you might have to click down a few levels to find it.

View attachment 119546

I understand, and appreciate you raising what are all fair and unbiased points. . You nail it when you refer to “trade-offs.” Everything in life is a trade off as is the way in which we choose to listen to music.
It certainly is an inexpensive (no cost) experiment to play around further with Squeeze. I presume I just need to open an account with Squeezebox and change the app in my K22 player, download the Squeezebox app on my SGC server and then download the iPeng app and log on with account credentials and should be all set. The app gets great reviews and looks much slicker than the web browser interface. It’s a cheap throw at only $8.99 and gets solid reviews. Thx!

 

[kennyb123]

I presume I just need to open an account with Squeezebox

I think you only need it if you want to leverage certain apps.

download the iPeng app and log on with account credentials

iPeng will just discover Squeeze on your network. They do provide some additional capabilities if you have a Squeezebox account, but again, not a must.

 

[KrellFan1]

I think you only need it if you want to leverage certain apps.

iPeng will just discover Squeeze on your network. They do provide some additional capabilities if you have a Squeezebox account, but again, not a must.

Thank you; will my Qobuz library also be discovered? I presume there must be a field into which I can input my account credentials like email and password Also, would you be good enough to provide the link for the web browser interface you mentioned earlier for Squeezebox?

 

[OLADRA]

For the Sonic Transporter, it is possible that you will need to install the Qobuz plugin, I'm not sure if they come configured with the plugin already installed.
For the installation and launch of the web interface, see below:

Go to Apps, install Squeezebox Server from Software Manager, then click on Squeeze Box Server.

At the top right corner of Squeeze Box Server. select Choose Player drop-down and select your player, the K22 should be available here